When unveiled last April, the proposed standards from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were meant to shift Americans away from gasoline-powered automobiles and toward electric vehicles (EVs) to help combat what the White House calls man-made climate change and to cut air pollution for big cities, low-income areas, and "communities of color."
But considering the slowed EV sales and the legal challenges to the preferred standards, the Biden administration is reportedly expected to announce new automobile emissions standards that relax proposed tailpipe limits for three years.
"I think this is a case of Joe Biden trying to pretend that the free market has not already deemed electric vehicles a complete loser," comments Larry Behrens of Power The Future. "In the United States, less than 8% of the vehicles purchased last year were electric vehicles. That was a record last year for EVs, and we already see this year that demand is going way down."
This month, Quartz reported that EV maker Tesla is struggling with declining interest in EVs. Likewise, Ford could lose $5.5 billion in their EV market this year.
Still, Behrens says Biden will likely reinstate his preferred EPA standards at a later date.
"If re-elected, he's going to be forcing more and more of these rules upon us with no more accountability," he warns. "He's taken us down a failed road, and I think the American people are maybe looking to make a change in November."
Reasons for consumers not wanting EVs vary but often include lack of charging stations, the distance models can travel on a charge, cost, and cost of maintenance. U.S. News & World Report has tried to dismiss these concerns, but many right-leaning individuals, politicians, and special interest groups say they are spot on.
